Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story is an action-drama. Based on the original manga by Youkow Osada  (Ten no Haoh). Created by Buronson (story) and Tetsuo Hara (art), Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story is a spin-off of the original Fist of the North Star manga.

Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story has theme performances by jealkb (OP) and mina muse (ED). Produced by Haruhisa Ishizuka (Rainy Cocoa, My Wife is the Student Council President+!) and Hisato Usui (After- School Hanako-kun, Blade Dance of the Elementalers), the spinoff anime brings additional layers to the franchise. Featuring the voices of Akiko Kimura, Mai Nakahara, Masaya Matsukaze, Takashi Ukaji, Daisuke Matsubara, and Hiroki Tōchi.

The series explores the uprising and surge into power of the diabolical ruler Raoh (Takashi Ukaji). Raoh is a strong but dangerous leader. Raoh is someone with a determination to unleash vengeance onto those surrounding him.

Raoh is the older brother of Ken. Raoh is nothing like Ken, though. Unlike Ken, Raoh lusts for violence and rage. Raoh seeks to conquer the entire landscape of the post-apocalypse world.

Determined to accomplish all of his conquering goals, Raoh will stop at nothing to have as much power as possible. Everyone is a pawn to Raoh. Raoh wants to rule over everyone and use his minions as his personal servants – including his own childhood friends Reina (Mai Nakahara) and Souga (Masaya Matsukaze).

The supporting cast of characters includes Sakuya (Akiko Kimura), Reina (Mai Nakahara), Souga (Masaya Matsukaze), Raoh (Takashi Ukaji), Ryūga (Daisuke Matsubara), and Toki (Hiroki Tōchi). The supporting characters help to round out the cast. The characters are immersed in a lot of action-spectacle. The characters adding to the Fist of the North Star franchise.

The character designs by Hirotaka Marufuji (Aquarion Evol, Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle) are well-done. The designs are effective at conveying the dark and gritty atmosphere of the anime series. The main cast of characters have designs that effectively convey the production franchise.

The animation is solid if not the best aspect of the series. Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story features art direction by Seo Gu Lee (Engage Planet Kiss Dum, Arata The Legend). The chief animation direction by Akira Koshiishi (Plunderer, Transformers: Cybertron) adds to the style of the production, too. The animators provide the series with a dark and brooding atmosphere that is an essential element of the production. Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story is a production animated with a more mature tone and setting. The background animation on the production is well done. The line art is well highlighted by the animators.

The cinematography by Shōichi Komuro (Guardian Ninja Mamoru, Venus Wars) showcases more mature and gothic tone in Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story. The anime features atmospheric cinematography. Fans of the franchise will appreciate the foreboding style. Komuro’s cinematography helps to enhance the mood established by the series.

The score composed by Kazuhiro Ishikawa (DD Hokuto no Ken) and Shinya Naito (Neko Neko Fantasia) is solid if not one of the best components of the anime. The score serves as solid background music to the action and adventure. The dark and action-oriented themes are part of the essential essence. These are elements that help enhance the sense of scale established by the production.

Written by Hiroshi Ohnogi (Arjuna, Heat Guy J), Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story isn’t a top-tier story but it will appeal to franchise devotees. The writing isn’t the best and has some clunky sounding dialogue. The production could have been better in terms of the writing quality. An element that stumbles.

Directed by Masashi Abe (Blue Gender, MegaMan NT Warrior), Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story is a decent at best anime. Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story is certainly not a classic installment in the long-running Fist of the North Star anime franchise. The production offers a decent spin-off entry but not a home- run classic and fans should keep their expectations in check.

Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release features a decent if unspectacular presentation quality. The release was first produced in 2008. As an anime produced in this era, the animation quality uses an abundance of digital art that is not produced in the highest quality – and as such the art often has a lower resolution appearance even while encoded in 1080p.

Color reproduction looks a little flat and disengaging compared to modern anime. The encoding showcases some video problems with the artwork often looking less crisp or detailed as ideal. It is unfortunate that the presentation has some of these inherent drawbacks due to the production era. Even so, the presentation still provides a modest boost over standard-definition DVD. Viewers should keep modest expectations for this particular anime release.

Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The release preserves the sound direction by Jin Aketagawa (AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline, anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day). The release offers up decent audio clarity. The audio presentation capably reproduces the soundstage. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The score is also well highlighted on the release.

The surround sound isn't as robust as the best surround sound stage but it does offer a somewhat more immersive quality not always present on each stereo audio option. It is also nice to see that the release provides a 5.1 mix to both the English dubbed option as well as the Japanese language option. More often than not, the Japanese mix isn't provided in 5.1 and only 2.0 so it is nice to see both options provided for those who prefer a 5.1 mix. Stereo is usually just fine but it is nice to see both audio options feature the same type of sound mix.

One of the benefits of physical media is the lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services only provide lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding. The encoding on streaming services for catalog titles is usually in MP3 quality. For home theater enthusiasts, the lossless encoding provides a higher bitrate option with true lossless encoding.

Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes in a standard Blu-ray case. The release does not come with an o-card slipcover. The release does not include any additional DVD or digital copy options. It is a standard-edition offering.

Clean Opening Animation (SD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (SD, 1:32)

Unfortunately, the Blu-ray release has a lackluster supplemental package. The release could have been more well-rounded with a better selection of bonus features. The release lacks making-of featurettes, behind-the-scenes documentaries, audio commentaries, cast/crew interviews, art galleries, and photo galleries. The lack of any meaningful supplements is a major drawback and is one of the reasons why some simply opt for streaming a particular title over purchasing a physical copy. It is always important that distributors focus on creating a good supplemental package to provide more value.

Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story - Complete Collection provides a decent entry in the franchise. The anime isn't a slam-dunk and isn't as good as the best installments in the franchise. However, fans of the anime saga may want to see it for some decent action-adventure.

The Blu-ray presentation is somewhat underwhelming with average picture-quality (source-related). The release lacks any meaningful supplements. For enthusiasts wanting to own the series and add it to their Fist of the North Star franchise collection, it might be worth considering a purchase.